Information literacy

Came across a fantastic resource: 21st Century Information Literacy Project (21CIF) from the Illinois Maths and Science Academy (IMSA) and funded by the US Department of Education. 21CIF is designed for educators and learners who wish to know more about the essential steps of locating, evaluating and ethically using digital resources. Free online modules and webinars explore the full range of information literacy skills needed in a digital world.

Online tutorials provide hands-on practice with Digital Information Fluency Concepts and are 10-15mins in length, often with supporting video or audio. Topics covered include: copyright; how to search the invisible or deep web; using search engines; using keywords effectively. The Search Challenges are internet research problems you can solve by testing your search strategies and tactics.

Over in the Resources area, you can find the Digital Information Fluency core competencies model; top tips to empower your information skills in searching, evaluation and ethical use; and teacher lesson plans. The IMSA Full Circle Resource kit provides further resources to sharpen digital information fluency. And there’s also a blog.

Although designed primarily for secondary students, the digital information fluency skills covered in 21CIF could be tailored to the corporate training environment.